Prays fraxinella (Bjerkander, 1784) Species
Last modified: Jan. 10, 2025, 5:02 p.m.
A fairly common species throughout Belgium.
Details
- Classification
- Family: Praydidae > Genus: Prays > Species: Prays fraxinella
- Vernacular names
- Essenmot (NL), Ash Bud Moth (EN), Eschenzwieselmotte (DE)
- Synonyms
- Prays curtisella (Donovan, 1793) and Prays coenobitella (Hübner, 1813)
- First mention in Belgium
- De Sélys-Longchamps E. 1844. Énumération des insectes Lépidoptères de la Belgique. — Mémoires de la Société royale des Sciences de Liége 2: 1–35. On page 23 (as Melanoleuca caenobitella H.). view page
- Status
-
Native
Distribution
Imago
Wingspan 14–18 mm.
Museum specimens
Specimens in nature
Caterpillar
Cocoon/pupa
Bionomics
The larva, when young, makes a mine in the leaf of the host plant. It hibernates in the bark just below a bud, and in spring it continues feeding within a shoot or in a lightly spun shoot, often causing it to droop or show distorted growth.
Pupation in a netted cocoon.
The adults come to light.
Flight periods
The adults fly in two generations a year from mid-May to July and again from late August to late September.
